Interim Dean, School of Medicine

Born and raised in Somerville, N.J., Edward C. Halperin graduated from Somerville High School. He received a B.S. in Economics, Summa Cum Laude, from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, his M.D., Cum Laude, from Yale University, and an M.A. from Duke University. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Stanford University and his residency and chief residency at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Halperin was on the faculty at Duke University for 23 years, where he rose to become professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology, vice dean of the School of Medicine and associate vice chancellor. He held two endowed professorships, served as chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee of the faculty practice plan, was chair of the endowed professors committee and was a member of the promotion and tenure committee, the faculty senate and elected member of the senate's executive committee. He was named a fellow of the American Council on Education and spent a sabbatical devoted to understanding the work of a university president and provost, serving as an administrative intern to two presidents and two provosts.

In 2006 Dr. Halperin was named dean of the School of Medicine, Ford Foundation Professor of Medical Education, and professor of radiation oncology, pediatrics, and history at the University of Louisville, and in 2011 took on the additional position of university vice provost. He has worked closely with the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Nursing, Education, Social Work, and Music, created multiple interdisciplinary programs, fostered several diversity initiatives, chaired several task forces for the provost, joined with the College of Education in establishing an autism center, and helped launch the university's research park. During his tenure, applications to the medical school rose 67 percent, fundraising was five times greater than budgeted projections, and 12 department chairs were recruited. The medical school had the fastest rate of growth in NIH funding in the U.S. for two consecutive years.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Halperin maintains a wide scope of interests. His research has focused on pediatric cancer, adult brain tumors, the role of radiotherapy in organ transplantation, ethics, and the history of racial, religious, and gender discrimination in higher education. He is the co-author/editor of the first five editions of Pediatric Radiation Oncology and of several recent editions of Principles and Practice of Radiation Oncology. He has published more than 195 articles in the peer-reviewed scientific, historical, education, and ethics literature.